Pakistan could miss speedsters on bouncy Mohali pitch

Oct 24, 2006

When Pakistan take on New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy one-day international encounter at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) ground, Mohali Wednesday, they will definitely miss the services of fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif on a "hard-rolled and bouncy track".
Till Monday evening, it was not the Pakistani side which was going the extra yard to practice in the early winter chill of north India. Though some Pakistan players did come out to practice later in the evening, it was the New Zealanders who sweated it out at the nets.
The Pakistan side, which has been camping in Chandigarh, 10 km from here, since Thursday, has not had a full-fledged cricket practice over the last four days.
All that the Pakistan players did was to have some fielding practice for two hours in a stadium in Chandigarh, play football, watch a couple of Hindi movies, do sight-seeing and shopping, enjoy Diwali festivities and dine at the residence of their liaison officer.
New Zealand will depend a lot on the services of paceman Shane Bond on the grassy, bouncy pitch here.
It is here Pakistan will miss their real fast bowlers - Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif - both of whom made an unceremonious exit from the Champions trophy with bowling a single delivery after testing positive for doping.
Pakistan's bowling coach Waqar Younis said that the side was also trying to concentrate on the batting department.
New Zealand team (from): Stephen Fleming (Captain), Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, James Franklin, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Brendon McCullum (wicket-keeper), Hamish Marshall, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori and Lou Vincent
Pakistan team (from) : Younis Khan (Captain), Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Faisal Iqbal, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Imran Farhat, Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez and Rao Iftikhar Anjum.

Champions Trophy Group B: New Zealand vs Pakistan, Mohali

Venue

Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium in Mohali is one of the most modern and best equipped stadiums in India. The stadium will host the curtain raiser, between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the much-awaited India-Australia clash and the semi-finals.